Before you can master design, you must first need to understand the fundamentals. Good visual designs aren’t born. They are made. The key to becoming a better visual designer is rigour. You will only improve as a visual designer if you make a conscious effort. Here are some fundamentals you should master so you can take your visual design to the next level.
Fundamental #1: Type
You can tell a lot about a designer by looking at their typography—because the type is a fundamental basis for the design. There may be some designs entirely made with typography. To improve the typography in your designs, first, start by learning the basics. Develop a vocabulary for describing the type. Learn about what terms like tracking, kerning, and leading means. The article A Beautifully Illustrated Glossary Of Typographic Terms You Should Know is a great visual resource for learning those terms.
Fundamental #2: Use Space to Create Balance
Spacing helps establish vertical and horizontal motion in your designs. It’s pivotal for creating visual hierarchy and forming an association between elements.
When studying typography, you may have noticed the importance of spacing in type. Adjusting the kerning and leading for fonts is a great exercise for developing your eye for spacing. For this reason, I recommend you try KernType, a game where you compare your kerning solution to a typographer’s solution.
Negative Space Exercise:
Another exercise that will help develop your eye is the following:
- Take an existing design
- Draw an x and y-axis
- Simplify the design into basic shapes
- Analyze how the design is balanced
- Then rearrange the elements
- Pay close attention to how negative space affects the balance of the elements.
Fundamental #3: Use size to establish visual hierarchy
When it comes to creating visual hierarchy, sizing is second to none. By using size to convey visual relationships between elements, you can establish flow. Sizing is one of the reasons why grids are useful. You can use grids to help you size elements using ratios to convey importance.
Once you have determined size for an element, keep it the same across all instances of it. In design, consistency is king.
Fundamental #4: Use Colour to Convey Meaning
Colour plays many roles. It conveys meaning, creates emotional resonance, and brings unity to designs.
- Identify the purpose of your design before choosing a colour palette. The good design aligns its colour palette with its mission.
- Identify your audience. People perceive colours differently. Colours have different effects on people based on their personal preference, cultural upbringing, and experiences.
- When choosing a colour palette, simplicity is vital. Choose a neutral background colour. Then select a primary and secondary accent colour. Finally based on your other colours, choose an error and success colour for your different UI states.
- Once you have a good grasp on the basics of colour theory, colour comes down to experimentation and iteration. Actively try to break out of your comfort zone and try new colour palettes.
Colour Exercise:
Here’s an exercise that will help develop your eye for colour.
Spend time compiling colour palettes for things around you like photographs, magazines, and your favourite shows. Then take an existing design and apply new colour palettes to it.
Take note of how it changes the mood and tone of the design. Does it change the meaning as well?